Lacrosse racquet



May 23, 1950 F. c. JAY 2,508,519

LACROSSE RACQUET Filed Sept. 9, 1948 atented May 23, 1950 LACROSSE RACQ'UET Frederic C. Jay, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Kentucky Forest Products, Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of Maryland Application September 9, 1948, Serial No. 48,423

8 Claims.

This invention relates to athletic devices, more specifically, to improvements in lacrosse sticks.

Lacrosse sticks or racquets have been made for generations under certain methods adopted by the Indians of Canada and with certain tools considered appropriate for many years. Since lacrosse racquets are thereby made by hand they are generally not uniform in shape. The materials, being produced under natural conditions without scientic selection, are likewise variable in their nished form, that is, the strings or strips in one case may be stretched taut and in another case they may be loose even though apparently made under the same conditions.

An outstanding disadvantage of lacrosse raclquets is that the stick, which is generally carved .out by hand from a piece of wood, is not uniform in strength throughout the length thereof, and, instead, has shear points because of imperfec- .tions in carving or the presence of knot holes, yetc. Moreover, even though bent into somewhat J.-sh ape, the framework does not retain such :shape and instead warps causing a change in the :tension .of the netting. Moreover, the conventional type of guard used is not satisfactory because the spacer elements are generally made of .'exible gut-like material which curls in time, therefore not only reducing the height of the guard but .curling the top edge inwardly and thereby reducing the effective ball catching area .of the lacrosse stick. In some instances, the l.top edge bows outwardly and thereby increases such ball catching area. In short, no uniformity is maintained in the ball catching area, or in '.the rigidity and height of the guard.

,An object of the present invention is to overlcome the above-named disadvantages of common '.types of lacrosse sticks.

A more specic object of this invention is to jprovide a novel lacrosse stick having a frame Y-work made of laminated wood glued together, so vas to considerably increase the strength and uniformity of the frame work and eliminate shear spots, as well as to make a frame work that will retain its shape even after extensive use or play of the lacrosse stick.

A further speciiic object of the present invention is to provide, in a lacrosse stock, a novel guard structure including a plurality of stii spacer members, or posts, for preventing curling of the guard and for insuring uniform height of the guard as well as uniform ball catching area of the netting.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel attaching lacing for firmly holding the netting to the back of the lacrosse stick by a plurality of spaced points each of which securely anchors the netting in place, thereby insuring uniformity of tension of the netting.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a lacrosse racquet or stick which is scientically reproduceable, so as to standardize all sticks and give exactly similar characteristics, shapes, sizes, weights and proportions and thus avoid the necessity for players to get used to a particular stick, as is commonly the case with present lacrosse racquets, since the handmaking thereof invariably causes different characteristics for different sticks.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following specication taken with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a top or plan View of a lacrosse stick embodying the principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged side View of the guard side of the lacrosse stick shown in Figure 1, shown partly broken away; A

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the lacrosse stick shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the handle taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3 and more clearly showing the laminated construction thereof; and y Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective View of one of the posts shown in Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, numeral l generally denotes an L-like frame having a handle portion 2, a back portion 3, a lip portion 4 and a toe portion 5. An important feature of the present invention resides in making the frame of the lacrosse stick or racquet of laminated wood. American birch, northern elm or white ash are among the woods that have een found to give highly satisfactory results although it will be understood that other woodsv are equally useful. The wood strips or laminations are glued together by any suitable thermosetting glue and the lamnations are bent into somewhat L-shape. The toe portion 5 is torsionally bent inwardly as shown in the drawing. The handle portion l is somewhat elliptical in cross section as shown more clearly in Figure 4 and increases in height or depth at the crotch 6, that is, at the beginning of the back portion, and retains such increased height throughout the entire back portion 3 and then gradually tapers to a shorter height of about one-third of the height of the back portion along lip portion 4. By so varying the height throughout the length of the racquet, the racquet is strengthened at places Vwhere greatest strength is required and reduced in height Where reinforcement is not necessary, thereby providing not only a strong but relatively light stick. The back portion is also curved on the outside surface thereof as Well as inclined so as to form an acute angle with the major plane of the handle portion. Each of the laminations extfends thrhuighout the entire. length of the stick, that is from the end of the handle to the extreme end of the toe so as to insure uniformity of cross section along the different portions, for example along the handle portion, so as tolkgive better balance and ease of carrying 'the stick. The lip portion 4 is tapered inwardly or'scooped to correspond in height to the top edge oftheA back at the crotch portion L;

Netting 8 is strung and the ends vhereof ei; rnd through holes such as 9 formed along the length 9i the back and lip portion. A plurality of longi- 20 `tii'dirfally extending thongs on lead .'wires. l0 .are fpvided, the tp ends ..of which Vare,'securely 'anchored to `thelipportion .4' and the .b ottornrends of vwhich are tied to the back adjacent the crotch 'ip 'ortio'nV l'l. Four such longitudinally extending 4thongs are vshown, as is conventional. Instead fftyii'g in the endsof the netting loosely along 'the back as 'com'n'ionlydone they are tied `fait i a plurality of spaced 'points by thel attaching lacing I'l, While' attaching lacing His somewhat th'ejform-"of a lock stitch or o'ther'suitable ing-Vtoprovide -a'fpositive tie in at a'plurality -'cif'pf'iints instead of at' the two ends as isV common in the art. This plurality of'anclioring points `i`ns`res uniformity of tension of the netting Land eliIn'irren-ies`abnormal poke'ts or sagging of the netting'as would otherwise occur. Y

Antlii important feature 'of the present injif tfsiesfin tnejguaidistr'iucture which is #shew 'more vclearly -inl'ig're 2 a'nd which 'comvprissa plurality f 'strands 'of habiches or raw hide I2 WhiQh run lorgitdially'f the frame and f'xtefid "between the' les refinedin the "tpe portionand those fornied at'the crotch portion of :the stick "or fffrain'e w'rfk. Instead of providing jf iirtyuoiliefern@ spaeerstiiereae `p id" alp altyf'sti'ff spacers orpsts' 3"ifan 1,taining uniform space between the outerl'ongi- "tuuiiiany running strands of the *gde-rd- The fspacers orwpostsarefprferably'made of fibrous rialnsuchzas vulcanized liber Yor'phi'nolic eatd 'canvas-.I The vends vof Athe posts I3 are ledatwl (seenliguref) so' that the outside raV ds fof the gilfard**may Yextend therethrough be r'mly anchored and held 'tensionedr in Isubst trally astjai'ght linewithout the necessity A of tie-insV or knots at-eaeh post. The end strands of'the`fg `uard are protected'by spirally wrapping raround lbaloiche or `other suitable gut Aor shown in Figure 2. I Adjacent the creteil portion PY( int'hfere is strung-a stop guard 4lli made bystringying orsrbvridging babiche between 'theib'ack portion /hdihetp edge ofthe @ed Post iherebeng y, additionalysftrand of babihe extending from Mthe centralpartoi' such bridge and the lower "central portion, ofthe'fnettihg 8. Y

;rfhus, it will befvs'een thatA I haveprovid'ed ya 'Mh'ighly e'ci'entjstrohg Kbut'relatively light lacrosse stick or racquet whosel frame is made of 50 guard comprising a iuraiity' for 1 le material to form afprotective covering asf 4 and minimizing the common tendency of the angularly bent lip portion to become distorted with age and usage. Also, I have provided a novel guard structure wherein rigid posts or 5 spacer elements are provdedto insure uniformity in height through the length of the guard as well as to insure that the guard will maintain a posi- :tioiv'in 'applan'e at rightjangles 'te ktnenetting to thereby insure that theballfcatchin'g area of the 19 netting will always remain constant instead of -jiarying in size by the inward or outward bend- ,ingofrtthe guardY as is common in the art giving vundue"advantage or disadvantage to the players. Additionally by. Y'Iiialfring the framework of lamiand the end portion of ther toeis eletated?so 'I'iated woodandrbf insuring retention of shape thrghl'l'drigfperlidds of usage as Well as insuring Vun ivforinity ilnzero ss,a section throughout diiferent portlohs of the -length of the stick, there is providedg-fr the rst timev in the art, a truly uniform stick which players malt7 accustom themselves to usine pandgwhich,-.iif rbroken and'ireplad; the characteristics lofthe replacement .,wil-lbe exactly thhsa-me.4 This isji-n contrast tothe use of Well known sticks wherein apla'yer has to become YA25 used to or become broken;,in to the peculiar idiosyncrasies of a givenv stick and case of breakage, will be forced Lto Vreina-in out of the game inasmuch 4as it wou-lid.takeAY aconsiderable length of time for `himvtog'etused Vto the different '50 characteristics `of a new;stick..

'310 vtionA a` frainehaving a handle, aback" portion :of

"greaterV height than'that' the"handle:aA lip por V-tion, and a' toe `portion,fs"aidpori-.ions 'forming-'subist'antially an L+slli'apedf frame, rsaid toe portion being bent at' vrightagle's toth'e lip portion "and "45V disposed tol'lie within fthe projected 'area ofthe longitudinal "edges fof "said ba'ck jportihn, 4'and netting strung btween'safd back-,'l'ipaiid to'e fp'ortiris having a" guard`extending'hetween"tneitoe portion and thebackportionfofsaicl trame; 'said des substanamano height of said toe and approximating that of said back portion to retain said guard in a at plane configuration against material displacement.

3. A lacrosse racquet comprising in combination a frame having a handle, a `bacl: portion, a lip portion, and a toe portion, said back portion having greater height than the handle portion throughout the length thereof, said lip portion extending substantially at right angles to said back portion and ending in said toe portion partially bent at right angles to the lip portion and disposed to lie within the right angular projected varea of the longitudinal edges of said back portion, and netting strung between said back, lip and toe portions having a guard strung between the end of the toe portion and juncture between the back and handle portions of said lacrosse stick, said guards comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending strands of flexible material disposed perpendicularly relative to said netting having a plurality of spaced parallel posts extending at right angles thereto having perforations through which said strands extend, the ends of said posts I'being notched through which the outermost longitudinally extending strands traverse, said posts lbeing of a material highly resistant to deformation forces directed transversely to said guard and being resiliently yieldable to deformation in the direction of the principal longitudinal axis of said posts for retaining said guard on a at plane conguration of a height substantially corresponding to that of said back portion at all times.

4. In a lacrosse racquet, the combination set forth in claim 3 wherein said guard posts are made of vulcanized fibre.

5. In a lacrosse racquet, the combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein said guard posts are made of phenolic treated canvas.

6. A lacrosse racquet comprising a framework made of wooden laminations, all the laminations of which extend throughout the entire length of the framework, said framework comprising a handle portion having substantially elliptical 4 cross section, a back portion having a greater height than the handle portion and curved along the outer surface thereof, a lip portion extending substantially at right angles to the back portion and tapering down to a height of about onethird of that of the back portion and ending in a `toe portion tortionally bent substantially at right angles to the lip portion and disposed on an' axis such that the toe portion falls within the limits dened by the right angular projections of the longitudinal edges of said back portion, a netting strung between said back, lip and toe portions, and a guard strung between the juncture of the back and handle portions and the toe portion, said guard comprising a plurality of Iiexible strands extending longitudinally in substantially spaced parallel relatio-nship, a plurality of posts extending at right angles to said longitudinal strands and having perforations through which the innermost of said strands extend, the extreme ends of said posts having notches through which the outermost of said longitudinal strands extend, said posts being of substantially greater height than that of the free end of said toe portion relative to the juncture between said toe and lip portion for maintaining said guard in a flat plane configuration extending at right angles to said netting and of a height approximating that of said back portion to provide a constant ball catching area of said netting.

7. A lacrosse racquet as set forth in the next preceding claim wherein said guard posts are made o-f vulcanized lber.

8. A lacrosse racquet as set forth in claim 6, wherein said guard posts are made of phenolic treated canvas.

FREDERIC C. JAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 40 le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 891,813 l Cee] June 30, 1908 2,039,138 Auer Apr. 28, 1936 2,085,960 Donisthorpe July 6, 1937 

